Advent

The following Advent wreath prayer is intended to help busy households make Advent a prayerful time during the rush of Christmas preparations. The language is fairly simple, intended to be used for personal prayer and reflection or by groups of adults or adults with children. Options are noted to allow for participation by a variety of members of a household.

During Advent, the Church pays special attention to the struggle between darkness and light. December is one of the cloudiest months of the year, and the gloomy, gray, dreary, overcast skies can dampen our spirits. Moreover, the days keep getting shorter up to the winter solstice — the shortest day of the year when the light is the least and the darkness is the greatest. The heaviness of the darkness can lead to sadness and feeling down in the dumps.

Nearly three decades earlier, I had picked Andrea/Andrew because I thought it sounded so cool with the rest of my name: Alyssa Marie Andrea Bormes. God, who cannot be outdone, gave the pretentious teenager her sound, but he slipped in a mission along with it.

The following Advent wreath prayer is intended to help busy households make Advent a prayerful time during the rush of Christmas preparations. The language is fairly simple, intended to be used for personal prayer and reflection or by groups of adults or adults with children. Options are noted to allow for participation by a variety of members of a household.

“There was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7) when Jesus was born on the first Christmas.

Mary and Joseph went off to a stable or cave, off by themselves, off alone. No space was reserved for Jesus when he came. There was no hospitality, no welcome. There was severe overcrowding in and around Bethlehem, and the local residents and visitors alike were unwilling or unable to receive Jesus when he was born.

I believe God wants us to be happy. I believe God gave us this yearning for happiness that constantly preoccupies our hearts. It seems he has placed this yearning within each human heart as a spiritual navigational instrument designed to lead us to our destiny. God himself is the author of our desire for happiness.